


Fumble

by me413



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997), Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020)
Genre: Aerith-Yuffie-Red XIII Freindship, Cloud-Aerith Friendship, Cloud-Tifa Friendship, Dorky Cloud, Dorky Tifa, F/M, Fluff, Miscommunication, Misunderstandings, Tifa Messes Up, Tifa-Aerith-Friendship, Yuffie and Aerith Teasing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-15
Updated: 2020-10-15
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:28:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27024319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/me413/pseuds/me413
Summary: Tifa Lockhart is a martial artist. She's fast. She's strong. She doesn't miss a step. But no one is immune to a proverbial "foot-in-mouth" moment from time to time.
Relationships: Aerith Gainsborough/Cloud Strife, Tifa Lockhart/Cloud Strife
Comments: 4
Kudos: 26





	Fumble

"Cloud, would you mind leaving us alone for the day? We haven't seen each other in ages and sometimes it's fun to talk about old times for a change." Tifa smiled at him. "I'll try not to be back too late! So please don't worry about us!"

"I'm not worried. Just remember we're leaving early tomorrow," reminded Cloud as he turned to leave.

In return, she simply nodded, not paying him a second glance as she turned to face her old friend. It would be an afternoon of recounting the days of their childhood in Nibelheim for Tifa and Johnny, one that would see the redhead's girlfriend join them. Day then turned to twilight, the streets of the seaside town shimmering with the lights from its stalls and shops as the bruiser left her friend's home. Returning to the inn the party had rented, she found a sleeping Red XIII and Cloud at the bar. While the fiery tailed creature seemed to have fallen asleep beside the counter, the blonde was on a stool idly sipping on canned juice.

"You look pretty thirsty," called Tifa lightheartedly as she made her way over to Cloud. "I think a discerning customer like you deserves a bit more than a little fruit juice. Can I get you anything?"

"No, I'm-"

"Hey, come on," interrupted the bartender as she vaulted over the counter, her carmine eyes sparkling with energy. "It's been a while since I made anyone a drink."

"Wait, Tifa-"

"Hey, one drink. Just one. So what'll it be?" inquired Tifa, jumping at the chance to recreate her famed alcoholic concoctions. "Something hard?"

He stopped then, his eyes fixed on her. He opened his mouth to answer…

"Hey, hey, Cloud! Barret and I found that place with Chocobo cuts!"

… only to be interrupted by Aerith and Barret bursting in, the flower girl eagerly summoning the blue eyed swordsman with the promise of food.

"Yeah, Spikey! Other side of town! We better go now before they close up!"

"I'll be there in a bit," responded the blonde as he turned to face Tifa. "I wanted to tell you. Barret and Aerith were already going to find a place for us to eat."

"N-no, I get it! I was a bit pushy. Sorry about that."

In response, he simply shrugged and rose from his stool, calling out for their other companions as he joined the gunner and the mage at the door. "Red, Yuffie, let's go. Grub time."

Immediately, Yuffie dropped from the ceiling, surprising Tifa as the ninja landed deftly and swiftly exited the inn. "Finally! I've been waiting for hours!"

Following her, Red XIII roused from his slumber. Or more like a simple "resting of his eyes" as Tifa found her four legged friend favoring her with an amused look, having heard her exchange with the bladesman. "Words are like shovels. Use them wrong and you will find yourself in a pit of your own making," he mumbled, barely audible to the fighter.

"What?" exclaimed the raven haired lady, confused.

"Nothing. Let us go, Tifa. Food awaits."

And so she did, vaulting over the bar again to catch Aerith's eyes upon her. Her best friend's eyes were as energetic as ever, an ever present hint of mischief permeating the hue of jade in her orbs. Yet Tifa sensed something else as well. Sadness, perhaps, was her best guess as the Ancient's eyes flitted from her to the SOLDIER at her side, their forms shoulder to shoulder. Seeing him so far away, the black tressed woman could only watch as the distance between her and the blade wielder grew once more.

Their cadre would leave Costa del Sol the following morning, bright and early as they trekked onwards. As the sun neared its zenith, the companions then set up camp, eager for breakfast. With his makeshift spit ready, Barret retrieved the succulent Chocobo cuts they had purchased the evening before from his pack. "Sure glad we got some more for the road!"

"Yup," agreed Aerith, piling firewood before the one armed titan. "We can use this to start a fire. We'll probably need more though."

"We've got this, right, Cloud?" chimed in Tifa as she reclined against a rock, having paired off with the mercenary before to gather firewood during their trek to Kalm. However, his coldness towards her continued as he wordlessly rose from his place nearby and wandered off into the forest.

"Just stay here. I've got this." Cloud then pushed into foliage, not even sparing his old neighbor a glance as he did so. Silence overtook the camp then, the mercenary's renewed iciness shocking the others.

"Oof, talk about cold air. Here I thought blondie'd finally defrosted a bit," noted Yuffie as she laid her head on Red's belly, fingers intertwined behind her neck.

"Ssh, Yuffie," hissed Aerith even as she lit the pile of wood ablaze with a spell, gently scolding the teenager for her crassness. "Not cool."

"Fine, sorry, sorry," groaned the kunoichi. All of them then returned to their previous activities. All except one. For her part, Tifa could not ignore Cloud's sudden coldness, a reminder of the boy she had known in Nibelheim. As bewildered as she was, the striker simply attributed it to the stress of their undertaking, especially for him. After all, he had gone far and above his original job as a hired blade. Yet she still couldn't shake the nagging feeling that her childhood friend's behavior was a permanent change.

The day after, her suspicions would be confirmed as she lay in the dirt. A grenade from Barret had made quick work of the Grangalan they had encountered. However, the dark skinned man had launched the explosive far too close to her and Cloud, forcing her into an evasive roll that had saved her from injury. Unfortunately, the sound of the blast had left her ears ringing slightly, forcing Tifa onto her back as she regained her bearings. Attempting to stand despite her wobbly legs, her red-brown orbs were met with the sight of a spiky haired warrior coming to her aid.

Taking the proffered hand, Tifa quickly found her feet beneath her. And seeing his job as done, Cloud made to leave her once more. But the knuckle user mustered her courage, jogging up in front of him to offer her gratitude. "Uh, thanks for helping me up."

"It was nothing." The ever serious and stoic man before her then brushed past her. Her gaze followed him, watching him take a knee while a ribbon wearing healer's glowing hands floated over a gash in his shoulder. Aerith would lock eyes with her once more, offering silent consolation as Tifa's cluelessness only grew.

Three days on from Costa del Sol, the reason behind the swordsman's change in personality finally became evident to the ever understanding martial artist. After all, it was impossible not to understand the picturesque scene of Cloud and Aerith seated beside one another on a moonlit night. Atop a grassy cliff no less, their current campsite only adding to what Tifa assumed to be a very romantic moment between her two friends. Smiles on their faces with her hand on his shoulder as they spoke in hushed tones, Tifa was not at all blind to what was going on. Sadly for her, new feelings began to make themselves known. Feelings that made themselves evident through a huff and scowl on her normally kind face.

Noticing the change in the swift striker's demeanor, Yuffie smirked, sitting up from her usual place against a slumbering Red XIII's torso. "Ooh, you jealous, boobs?" asked the rogue teasingly, knowing she was right as she turned to behold the pair.

"No. And I told you to stop calling me that." Suddenly feeling very conscious, Tifa wrapped her arms around herself.

"Sure, sure, Tifa." The shuriken wielder's smirk only turned more playful as she knew she was pressing all the right buttons. "I gotta ask though: what'd you do to blondie?"

Perplexed, the barmaid's scowl only grew deeper, her eyebrows knitted. "Wait, what do you mean by that?"

Yuffie groaned. "Oh, come on. Pretty obvious what's going on here. You and Mister SOLDIER over there grew up together, right? You're the boy and girl next door. You two get separated for a few years then you meet again. But he isn't just the boy next door anymore. Oh no. One look at him and you get weak in the knees. You can't talk to him. And before you can even say anything to him…"

Tifa leaned in, not knowing why as she found herself enraptured by the spunky thief's tale.

"...you say one dumb thing and poof, he's off with some other girl. Just as sweet and pretty as you are. As a matter of fact, here she comes. Hey, Aerith!"

Both women turned to greet the third, descending from the cliff top as she wiped tears of amusement from her eyes. "Hey, Yuffie! I knew that'd get to him," chuckled Aerith, her braid bouncing as her shoulders shook with laughter.

"You called him a Chocobo head?"

The lady in pink nodded as she joined Yuffie in using their sleeping furred friend as a bed. "Yup. Totally did. But what's up with you guys? And where's Barret?"

The shinobi smiled wolfishly, eyes darting to Aerith and then Tifa. "Oh, nothing much, Aerith. Just a little conversation while the big man's out on a walk. It just seems like our friend here is jealous of you, considering what you've got going on with blondie."

"Oh, that old Carob nut," mused Aerith, her expression equal parts amused and embarrassed. "I've been cheering him up is all."

"That you have," agreed Yuffie. "Since Tifa over here dropped the ball and made him real gloomy. You really wanna know what's going on? Aerith'll tell you."

Tifa nodded silently, realizing that she had unknowingly insulted her blue eyed friend.

"We found him coming out of a house back in Costa del Sol. Me, Yuffie and Red. He looked sad. So I asked him what was going on and," stopped Aerith, catching her breath. "Like always, he said it was nothing. But we pressed him and he caved. Cloud said you told him to leave you alone for a whole day and then you basically ignored him right after. He felt bad because he thought he was just being a bother."

Realization hit Tifa like Zangan did during their lessons, her hands shooting up to cover her red faced visage. "Oh, that's why he hasn't been talking to me?"

But Aerith, always cheerful, just threw her head back in laughter before seeking the fighter's side of the story. "That's Cloud for you. I haven't known him as long as you, sure. But he's not the type to go around bothering people on purpose, you know? Unless that someone is Barret. But that's beside the point. So, Tifa, what exactly did you say to Cloud?" inquired Aerith lightheartedly, her playful grin the only solace to the martial artist after three days of the blonde's silence.

"I did tell him to leave me alone for the whole day," confessed Tifa, her face now hidden behind the curtain of her raven locks.

Her two listeners only chuckled. "That's not all, is it?" prodded Yuffie.

Ashamed, Tifa shook her head. "No. I also told him it'd be fun to talk about the old times. Then I told him I wouldn't be back too late."

Already sheepish, the striker could only hang her head in shame as Yuffie burst out laughing. "Way to kick him to the curb."

Thankfully, a brown haired friend was far more compassionate, stifling her mirth as she spoke. "Was Cloud not part of the old days?"

"He was never a talker. Even back in Nibelheim," revealed Tifa, shrugging her shoulders. "The other kids didn't really play with him. They thought he was weird. I didn't though. We didn't talk a lot but he was nice to me."

"Aw, I knew he had a soft spot beneath…" trailed the staff wielder. "All that Cloud."

Then it was the fighter's turn to laugh. "What do you mean, Aerith?"

"Well, I mean he's actually a good guy. He doesn't hate you or anything, Tifa. He's just overthinking things. He's still being nice to you. Cloud just doesn't wanna get in your way. That's why he's not talking to you," noted Aerith with warmth as she shot the lone warrior a glance over her shoulder.

A silence overtook the camp then as Tifa finally recognized the shy young boy beneath the stoic SOLDIER. In his own way, Cloud was doing his best for her. But it hurt to think that she made him feel like a nuisance. With her carmine eyes focused on his dark clad form on the cliff, she made her decision to finally speak with him.

"You should head on over there," spoke the brown haired woman across from her supportively. "Wouldn't want a childhood sweetheart to be broken hearted."

"Oh, you think he had a crush on her? That's why he was super nice to her!" observed Yuffie, her teasing of Tifa unrelenting "Our big, strong leader is all sweet on his pretty neighbor."

"It's not like that," spat Tifa, defensive even as her cheeks grew pink.

Aerith began wiggling her eyebrows at her dark haired friend. "Oh, I'm not too sure, Tifa. When he mentioned you, I asked if you were his girlfriend. He never really gave me an answer, you know? And Cloud is handsome. If I'd grown up with him, I'd have snatched him up by now. So if you don't want him, I'll take him off your hands if you don't get up there before I do," sing-songed the woman in the red jacket, an extremely flirty lilt to her tone that let Tifa and Yuffie know she wasn't joking.

"F-fine, muttered Tifa, rising as she marched off towards Cloud's spot.

"Good luck," called her tormentors as she left. Ascending the short incline towards the cliffside, the typically soft spoken woman shrunk as she neared her destination. Needless to say, the three days in which they had not spoken had left Tifa feeling even more shy than normal in regards to the boy next door. Still, her resolve was clear, greeting him calmly. "Hey, Cloud."

He tensed, turning away from her slightly before replying. "H-hey, T-Tifa."

Having made first contact, Tifa pushed onwards as she sat on the grass beside him. "It's been a while since we really talked. We're good, right?"

"Right. We are."

"And we're friends, too, right?"

"I guess."

A pause. A barrier. Another of his walls. It was up to her to break through. "Well, I think we really are friends."

And she did, his shoulders relaxing at her confirmation of their relationship. But there was still more on the bruiser's mind. "And I also spoke to Aerith. Yuffie too. I wanna say sorry, Cloud. You've never been a bother. We never really were that close growing up. You ignored me sometimes," remembered Tifa, laughing softly as she saw a half smile cross her stoic friend's face. "But when you did talk to me, you were always really nice. So thanks."

Then, for the first time in days, Cloud turned to her and spoke. "I'm sorry, too, Tifa. But you were always popular. Everyone liked you. And the other kids never really seemed to like me. Johnny included. So anytime you talked to me, I didn't really know why you wanted to. Seeing you two like that…" trailed the man, his voice low. "It felt like Nibelheim all over again. Then you talked about the old times and wanting to be left alone. I thought I was just getting in your way."

"Hey, maybe they didn't but I liked you, Cloud Strife." Lightly jabbing him in the shoulder, she smiled at him. "And they're my friends. But so are you. Don't forget that, okay?"

"I won't. And yeah, you really are my friend." His azure eyes softened then and Tifa swore she saw something else in them, only to watch that unsaid thing vanish as Cloud caught himself. "But we should get some sleep. Long day tomorrow."

Surprised but nonetheless happy, Tifa simply agreed as they headed off towards their camp together. "That's a good idea."

As the pair neared, they saw that Aerith was the only one still awake as Red, Yuffie and a returned Barret had already turned in. "So are you two finally okay?" asked the flower girl softly, picking at the warm fire before her with a stick. Cloud and Tifa then sat themselves beside her, nodding in unison.

"Well, that's great," said the ever cheerful Aerith, leaning in from Cloud's right and catching him off guard. "And you, Cloud, don't look all gloomy anymore. Right, Tifa?"

Hearing the praises of the girl with the braided locks, the spiky haired swordsman gave her a half smile before he turned to face Tifa on his left. Cocking her head, the lithe fighter offered up her own appraisal of her old friend.

"You do look better, Cloud," said Tifa, an affectionate quirk to her lips as she placed her hand on the man's shoulder.

**I started my second playthrough of FF7 and got to Costa del Sol with the scene where Tifa and Johnny talk after Tifa basically kicks Cloud out. That was surprisingly harsh, Tifa, but it felt like she was being more innocently insensitive than anything else. So I wrote about it. HAHAHA Please feel free to leave a review! I'd love to hear what you think! =)**


End file.
